4 Queercore Bands to Listen To

Thousands of music lovers will descend on the California desert this weekend for Coachella, a cultural force that’s grown to define the festival industry. The stacked lineup (featuring Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, and Lady Gaga!) is an undeniable draw, but the ethics of festival attendance have been questioned due to the politics of Coachella owner Phillip Anschutz.

As the owner of the entertainment corporation that operates Goldenvoice and thus Coachella, Anschutz profits off expensive wristband prices. And in the past, he has used his substantial wealth to donate to groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, whose website opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights via his organization, the Anschutz Foundation. Following an extensive social media backlash, Anschutz issued a statement denying he was anti-LGBTQ and claiming that his foundation had "immediately ceased all contributions to such [anti-LGBTQ] groups."

That said, billionaires supporting far-right, conservative values are nothing new, but if you really want to try and elicit change, the most effective way (as the #BoycottCoachella tag demonstrates) is to hit 'em where it hurts: their wallets. And while the experience of Coachella outweighs Anschutz's politics for some, for those who have no interest in giving their money to Anschutz's business ventures, there's a variety of other musicians to back who are using their art for more productive means.

In today's diverse music landscape, there's a slew of groups that fall under the queercore umbrella, a branch of hardcore punk that embraces queerness lyrically or thematically with the goal of deconstructing typical frameworks. Instead of playing — and paying — into the Coachella hype, here are some artists to listen to and support. With critical lyrics and powerful live performances, these five queercore bands provide political and sonic inspiration in equal measure.

Skinny Girl Diet

This British political punk band is one of the most obvious descendants of Babes in Toyland and the riot grrrl genre writ large. The band records their own music and creates their own zines (check out instant classic How to Spot a Fuckboy), upholding a DIY ethos that allows for complete creative control. The artwork for Heavy Flow, their latest album, depicts the trio in almost-immaculate white dresses, marked with a cheekily positioned red stain. A recent track called “Yeti” satirizes the demonization of female sexuality — its music video is a pastiche of horror movie films, complete with a costumed Bigfoot.

Aye Nako

Brooklyn quartet Aye Nako uses music to shine an unflinching light on society. Their 2015 EP The Blackest Eye plays off Toni Morrison’s debut novel The Bluest Eye to explore issues like heteronormativity, cultural fetishization, and the skepticism victims of sexual trauma often face. Urgent lyrics bleed into driving drums, forming tightly wound tracks. There’s a sense that everything is perilously close to falling apart, creating a uniquely charged listening experience that grips listeners until the final chord.

Shopping

At Shopping’s live shows, the mosh pit is a safe space. The British post-punk trio doesn’t explicitly intend to make political music, but as artists aiming to accurately portray life through song, their lyrics tend to veer toward topics like capitalism and queer-positivity. The band’s overt goal is simply to make songs people like to dance to. Tracks like “In Other Words” are marked by punchy, burrowing earworms of guitar riffs that embed themselves in your brain and beg to be hummed aloud. The overall effect is undeniably riveting, giving the dance floor a magnetic pull.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article included PWR BTTM. They have been removed from this list in light of several allegations of sexual assault. For further resources on sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).